San Antonio woos Oakland Raiders in relocation bid

SAN FRANCISCO: Texas billionaire Red McCombs, a former owner of the NFL Minnesota Vikings and NBA San Antonio Spurs, is encouraging the Oakland Raiders to consider relocating to San Antonio.

McCombs told KZDC radio that he would be willing to invest in the team if that would help lure Raiders owner Mark Davis into the Alamodome as a temporary home while a new stadium is built.

“We still have to get them to want to come,” McCombs said. “[Davis] was born and raised there and he has a great feeling for the state of California, but it appears he is going to need to go somewhere.”

On Tuesday, the NFL rejected a relocation plan to Los Angeles for the Raiders and San Diego Chargers and approved the move of the St. Louis Rams to Los Angeles. The Chargers have up to a year to join them in a new stadium deal and if they refuse the Raiders would then have a year to move.

But that is scant help for Davis, whose team lacks a lease for next season and is looking at a late March NFL owners meeting to have final answers for the 2016 season.

Corporate support in the region won’t be a problem, according to 88-year-old McCombs.

“We already have 12 of the corporate entities nailed down and ready with serious commitments,” McCombs said. “They are not going to find anywhere else in the United States that can equal what we put together.”

NFL owners would have to approve the move, which could draw complaints from the two other owners of Texas NFL teams, Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys and Bob McNair of the Houston Texans.